Ark. college graduation rate rises to 40.8 percent

According to an Arkansas Department of Higher Education report, 40.8 percent of students who entered college in 2006 had received a degree six years later, an increase from 39.5 percent last year and 37 percent five years ago.

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By Associated Press

Stuttgart Daily Leader - Stuttgart, AR

By Associated Press

Posted Apr. 29, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Updated Apr 29, 2013 at 9:34 AM

By Associated Press

Posted Apr 29, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Updated Apr 29, 2013 at 9:34 AM

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

The rate of Arkansas students who graduated from college within six years of enrollment rose slightly last year, but most students hadn't earned a degree and the state isn't on pace to reach the governor's goal of doubling the number of college graduates in Arkansas by 2025.

According to an Arkansas Department of Higher Education report, 40.8 percent of students who entered college in 2006 had received a degree six years later, an increase from 39.5 percent last year and 37 percent five years ago.

"It's not just a goal," Broadway said. "From an economic standpoint for Arkansas, it's a necessity."

Economic development and government leaders have said that Arkansas' relatively low number of degree holders and relatively poor graduation rates affect the state's ability to attract new businesses and recruit highly skilled workers.

Arkansas' public colleges and universities awarded 13,988 bachelor's degrees in the 2011-12 school year, an increase of 6.7 percent from 2010-11 and 21.5 percent more than awarded five years ago, according to the Higher Education Department.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville had the highest six-year graduation rate, 60 percent of the 2,725 first-time, full-time students who enrolled in the fall 2006 semester earned a degree within the next six years, the report said. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock had the lowest rate among four-year institutions, with 19.3 percent of 605 students graduating in the same time period.

UALR attributed its lower graduation rates to relatively high enrollment of nontraditional students, who take longer to complete a degree and often transfer between campuses before graduating.

Arkansas ranked ahead of only Mississippi and West Virginia among other states and the District of Columbia in the proportion of its population 25 and older who had completed a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

In 2011, the latest year for which numbers are available, 20.3 percent of the state's 25-and-older population had completed a bachelor's degree compared to a national average of 28.5 percent.